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Mothman: The Facts Behind The Legend
About Mothman: The Facts Behind The Legend is a book by Jeff Wamsley and Donnie Sergent Jr. released on December 15th 2001. The Book's Description: "On the night of November 15th 1966, two adventurous young couples drove into the TNT area north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. What they saw in the countryside that night has evolved into one of the great mysteries of all time: just who -- or what -- was the Mothman? This book will answer many questions regarding just what those couples saw outside the abandoned North Power Plant that night. Culled from a variety of sources, the materials presented inside are not conjecture -- the authors are careful not to cross the line between fact and fiction -- leaving any decisions regarding the truth behind the Mothman legend solely up to the reader." "This collection of rare images is the required volume for all intrigues by the real story behind the Mothman. I highly recommend it to all" - Author Loren Coleman Contents Summary: The information within the book is sectioned into separate parts as well as chapters within them. Preface The book's preface is a short one page message from Donnie Sergent Jr. Introduction The introduction by Jeff Wamsley describes the Mothman legend as well as it's effect on Point Pleasant and it's persistence throughout the years. His description the Scarberry and Mallette report in the book was later paraphrased and used as the inscription for Bob Roach's Mothman Statue in 2003. Jeff goes onto to say in this introduction that the purpose of this book is to simply present the facts, eyewitness accounts and press clippings to explain how the Mothman phenomenon began. The dedication page reads "For the hard-working people of Point Pleasant, West Virginia". With that, the book officially begins. Part I - Historical Perspective This section of the book is written by Donnie Sergent Jr. and is marked as such. Chapter 1: A brief History of Mason County, WV describes various local historical locations events such as The Battle of Point Pleasant as well as Fort Randolph and the collapse of the Silver Bridge. This chapter displays photos of the Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant. Chapter 2: A History of the TNT Area describes the local McClintic Wildlife Management Area which was used in World War II to manufacture and store TNT. Many of the Mothman sightings were reported to happen there. The chapter uses images of the abandoned North Power Plant which were provided by Mark S. Phillips and taken in 1986. The North Power Plant was the location from the Scarberry and Mallette report and it was torn down in the early 1990's. Part I I - Eyewitness Accounts Chapter 3: The Interview is a lengthy interview with Linda Scarberry. Donnie Sergent Jr. is the interviewer and he asks several questions which cover a variety of topics within the Mothman folklore. Linda discusses what happened on that night in November of 1966 and speaks on the aftermath as well as her perspective on all of this. Chapter 4: Eyewitness Reports contains hand-written reports by Linda Scarberry, Mary Mallette and Roger Scarberry which detail their experiences. The reports were written days after the encounter. The book displays photos of the pages along with a transcription by Jeff Wamsley. These documents are now available for viewing at the Mothman Museum. At the point of publishing, the names were being withheld but they are now publicly known and on display. Eyewitness #1 = Mary Mallette, Eyewitness #2 = Roger Scarberry, Eyewitness #3 = Steve Mallette, Eyewitness #4 = Gary, Eyewitness #5 = Deputy Millard Halstead, Eyewitness #6 = The Thomas Family (Ralph and Virginia). Part I I I - The Public Record: Newspaper Clippings The newspaper clippings in the book were provided to Linda Scarberry from her collection of newsprint of the subject. These articles of news-press span from page 67 to page 126 of the book. Most are from local press such as The Point Pleasant Register and The Athens Messenger but some, such as the Pacific Stars and Stripes, are from international sources. The clippings provide insight into the urban legend and context to the time period. They are also available for viewing at the Mothman Museum. Part I V - Correspondence & Personal Notes This section contains several letters from Author John Keel to Linda Scarberry and her parents. The book displays photos of the letters along with a transcription. Appendix: Return to TNT Part 1 and 2 The appendix of the book features additional information about the TNT area as well as information on the Search For The Mothman Documentary and Linda Scarberry's experience being interviewed for it. The book then recommends John Keel's 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies and lists websites to visit, including Mothmanlives.com as well as West Virginia tourism websites and the Mothman Museum official website. Book Signing: In 2002, authors Donnie Sergent Jr. and Jeff Wamsley went to west Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the filming location of The Mothman Prophecies film. They were invitation by Butch Kane and Bernie Bowser Jr. of the Kittanning Foodland to set up a book signing at their store location. Jeff9.PNG Jeff3.PNG Jeff4.PNG Jeff5.PNG Jeff6.PNG Jeff7.PNG Sources: Mothman: The Facts Behind The Legend (2001) https://web.archive.org/web/20020406105101/http://www.mothmanlives.info:80/ booksigningkittanningpa.html https://web.archive.org/web/20030211041204/http://donniesergentjr.com:80/ Category:Art